Apparatus for punching, scoring, and printing cards



W. P. P. SPIKA Oct. 4, 1966 APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING, SCORING, AND PRINTING CARDS FiledJan. 23, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet l IN VENTOR. IVOAFE/JM if .SP/M? ll m W. P. P. SPIKA Oct. 4, 1966 APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING, SCORING, AND PRINTING CARDS Filed Jan. 23, 1964 a Sheet-Shgeet 2 BY gm M 47 722/1494? w. P. P. SPIKA Oct. 4, 1966 APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING, SCORING, AND PRINTING CARDS Filed Jan. 23, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 I My W. P. P. SPIKA APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING, SCORING, AND PRINTING CARDS Filed Jan. 23, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 W. P. P. SPIKA Oct. 4, 1966 APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING, SCORING, AND PRINTING CARDS Filed Jan. 23, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 wwm 9m QN m wwh 1.4mm.

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ts-Sheet 6 8 Shae w. P. SPIKA w APPARATUS FOR PUNGHING, SCORING, AND PRINTING CARDS Filed Jan. 23, 1964 Oct. 4, 1966 IVENTOR.

lflfl/Z94M 2,? Sine? BY aw Filed Jan. 25, 1964 W. P. P. SPIKA APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING, SCORING, AND PRINTING CARDS 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 HUM FIG. /3

Oct. 4, 1966 w. P. P. SPIKA 7 APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING, SCORING AND PRINTING CARDS Filed Jan. 23, 1964 s Sheets-Sheet a l W ill INVENTOR. W01 IPA/14 2/? .SP/KA ATTOEA/A'YS United States Patent 3,276,772 APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING, SCORING, AND PRINTING CARDS Wolfram P. P. Spika, Lake Hiawatha, N.J., assignor to Champlain Company, Inc., Roseland, N.J., a corporation of New York Filed Jan. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 339,743 30 Claims. (Cl. 271-45) This invention relates to apparatus for punching, scoring, and printing cards, and more particularly business machine cards. I

Business machine cards have come into wide use, not merely within a business oflice for bookkeeping, but also to be sent through the mail for use and return, as for checks, subscription blanks, bonds, etc. For this purpose the card is usually pre-punched with certain holes. It may have one corner cut to orient the card. It may be of double length with a score line for tearing the halves apart, and there may be another score line with a short stub in addition to the two connected cards. Usually the cards are printed with a serial number, and sometimes they are punched with holes representing the same serial number, these numbers progressing from card to card.

The primary object of the present invention is to generally improve machines for such preliminary punching, scoring, and printing of business machine cards A further object is to provide apparatus which is flexible in use so that it can handle single cards or double cards, with or without a stub. Another object is to accurately perform any desired punching operation anywhere over the surface of the card. In accordance with a feature and object of the invention, the apparatus is provided with six successive die stations, some or all of which may be used to take care of any or many requirements.

Still another object is to provide apparatus which operates effectively and efliciently with a simple straightline travel of the card from a supply magazine at one end to a discharge pocket at the other end, all at high speed.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the said machine and its elements and their relation one to another, as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specification is accompanied by drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a machine embodying features of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal section at one station, and shows mechanism for accurately seating a card being operated on at that station;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 2, removed from the die holders;

FIGS. 4A and 4B taken together are a partially sectioned elevation similar to the upper portion of FIG. 1, but drawn to larger scale;

FIG. 5 is a transverse section taken in the plane of the line 55 of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 6 is a transverse section taken in the plane of the line 66 of FIG. 4B;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the magazine feed mechanism, and corresponds to the upper right portion of FIG. 43;

FIG. 8 is an elevation explanatory of the magazine feed mechanism, looking in the direction of the arrows 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary transverse section through the machine, taken approximately in the plane of the line 99 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken in the plane of the line 10-10 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 11 is an elevation showing one end of an upright plate used for adjusting a feed chain from side to side;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a top die carrier;

FIG. 13 is a transverse section through the same;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a bottom die carrier;

FIG. 15 is a transverse section through the same; and

FIGS. 16, 17, and 18 show a different precision seating mechanism which may be used in lieu of that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, the cards to be operated on are stacked in a magazine 12 located at one end of the machine, the cards extending transversely of the machine. They are fed horizontally in a simple straight line through the machine, and are discharged into one or another of two receptive pockets indicated at 14 and 16. During their passage through the machine they are operated on at any one or more of six die stations. In the present case, the first, second, third and sixth stations are shown in use, as indicated by the upper die holders 21, 22, 23, and 26. The die holders are missing at stations 24 and 25. The cards then pass through a printing station generally designated 28, which usually but not necessarily is used to print successive numbers or serial numbers on the cards passing therethrough.

If it be desired to punch the card with holes corresponding to the ink printed serial number, a suitable mechanism commonly termed an accumulator may be located at 30, and this mechanism is connected to the machine drive by a link 32 in order to progressively change the punches. The print mechanism 28 and the accumulator 30 are here both assumed to be of conventional construction, and require no detailed description. The die stations 21-26 are all alike, and are usable interchangeably, with a single exception that if the accumulator 30 is employed it should be located in the first station.

There is advantage in having a considerable number of stations. One may be used to cut the corner of a card for orientation; another may be used to provide score or tear lines; another may be used when an accumulator is employed; and the others may be used for ordinary perforations. A plurality of stations make it possible to perforate almost anywhere on a card, even though some room may be needed for the seating device of FIG. 2, because in a succeeding station the location of the seating device may be changed to an already perforated area, thereby freeing another area for perforation.

In FIG. 1 a large-area bolster is indicated in dotted lines at 34, this bolster serving for all six of the die stations. The bolster carries die holders for the lower dies which all reciprocate vertically in unison. The upper die holders marked 2126 carry the upper dies (the punch holders) which here remain stationary.

The cards are fed through the stations with a stop-andgo motion by means of endless chains having a top span 36 which runs past the die stations, and a bottom span 38 which is driven continuously. All parts of the machine are driven by a main drive shaft 40, belted by means of multiple V belts 42 (only one is shown) to a drive motor 44 in the base of the machine. The frame is divisible into an upper part 46 which carries all of the mechanism, and a lower part 48 which serves to raise the work are-a to comfortable height, and which also houses the drive motor 44. The bottom of upper part 46 may carry the bearings for the main shaft and a number of cross shafts of the machine. The lower frame 48 is essentially only a support for the upper frame, except that it carries the motor 44.

8 Chain card feed Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B taken together as FIG. 4, the chain is a roller chain so that either the top or bottom may be curved around a sprocket wheel. For the same reason the tabs or lugs which project upward from the top span 36, as shown at 50, are secured at the side of the chain where they will not interfere with running of a chain around a sprocket wheel in either direction. The lugs 50 are secured at regular intervals along the chain, in the present case at six-inch intervals.

The top span 36 passes around a direction-changing idler 52, and downward and around a vertically reciprocable sprocket wheel 54, and thence upward and around a sprocket wheel 56. The chain then passes downward to. avoid bolster 43, to a direction-changing idler 58, and thence horizontally to an idler 60. Referring now to FIG. 4B, the chain passes around an idler 62 which is mounted for vertical adjustment as indicated at 64, for chaintightening purposes. The chain length must be in increments of six inches, and therefore the chain path is adjusted by idler 62 to use up any excess lengthof chain. The chain then passes around a direction-changing idler 66, and thence to another idler 68, and upward to a vertically reciprocable sprocket wheel 70 which forms a reversely folded loop of chain. The chain then passes downward to idler 72 before turning upward to idler 74 at the beginning of the top or working span 36 of the chain. The loop around idler 70 may be called an up loop, whereas the loop around sprocket wheel 54 (FIG. 4A) may be called a down loop.

Any of the many sprocket wheels engaging the lower span 38 of the chain might be used as a driving sprocket which turns continuously at uniform speed and which drives the lower span without dwell. In the present case I employ the sprocket wheel 56 (FIG. 4A) as the driving.

wheel. Referring now to FIG. 5, main shaft 40 carries a helical gear 76 meshing with a helical gear 78 on a cross shaft 80. At its right end, this carries a timing pulley 110 which drives a conventional toothed or timing belt 112, which in turn drives a timing pulley 114 on a cross shaft 116. This shaft carries the sprocket wheel 56, the latter being keyed to shaft 116 by means of a key 118. Shaft 116 is carried at its ends in bearings 120 fixed in the sides 46 of the machine frame. Timing belt 112 may be tightened by an idler 111 carried on an arm 113,'the position of which is adjustable about a bolt 115.

Reverting to FIG. 4B, the sides of the up loop formed by sprocket wheels 68, 70 and 72 are preferably parallel, and in this case are vertical; and reverting to FIG. 4A the sides of the down loop of chain formed by sprocket wheels 52, 54 and 56 also preferably are parallel, and ,in this case are vertical.

The main drive shaft 40 (FIG. 4A) carries a helical gear 76 meshing with a helical gear 78 on a transverse shaft 80. This carries an eccentric 82 receiving the lower end 84 of a connecting rod 86, the upper end of which is connected to a bearing 87 on the shaft 88 of sprocket wheel 54. The ends of shaft 88 are carried in slides 89 which are slidable in vertical guides or ways 90. It will be evident that up motion shortens the loop, and down motion lengthens it.

Similarly, referring to FIG. 4B, drive shaft 40 carries a helical gear 92 meshing with a helical gear 94 on a cross shaft 96. This carries an eccentric 98 receiving the lower end 100 of a connecting rod 102, the upper end of which receives a bearing on the shaft 104 of the sprocket wheel 70. The shaft is also received in slides 106 which are vertically slidable in appropriate guides or ways 108. Upward movement of sprocket wheel 70 lengthens the loop and downward movement shortens the loop.

The eccentrics 82 and 98 rotate in unison and in phase. The loop-forming sprocket wheels 54 and 70 therefore move up and down together, but because wheel 54 forms a down loop and wheel 70 forms an up loop, one loop is shortened as the other is lengthened. By making the eccentricity of the eccentrics correct in amount, the resulting chain motion counteracts the normal forward drive motion, and the chain dwells during a portion of each cycle.

In the present case, with a six-inch spacing between chain lugs 50, the eccentricity or radius is somewhat under a half inch. The machine may be operated at a speed of say five hundred fifty rpm. with a dwell for about 60 of each cycle. One advantage of the present arrangement is that most Olf the chain length, in this case approximately two-thirds of the chain, moves continuously forward. Only the top span 36, which is only about one-third of the chain length, has a stop-and-go motion, with attendant wear. Even thiswear is minimized because of the smooth action afforded by the eccentrics, and I have operatedthis chain feed for 25 million cycles, with a total chain elongation of only inch.

Some of the parts just described for giving the top pass of the chain its stop-and-go motion may be described with reference to 'FIG. 5, in which helical gears 76 and 7-8. drive the cross shaft which carries the eccentrics 82 at the sides of the machine. These drive the upright connecting rods 86 through appropriate ball-bearings 85. The parts 83 are counterbalance weights to counterbalance the eccentrics 82. In FIG. 5, the eccentrics are shown in down poistion, whereas in FIG. 4 they are shown in midposition, but that has. been done merely for clarity. Cross shaft 80 is carried in bearings 81 on pedestals 79 on cast base 208. The vertically reciprocable sprocket wheels are indicated at 54, and the lower end of the down loop of chain is indicated at 38'. The vertically reciprocable shaft 88 (FIGS. 5 and 10) carries bearings 87 received in the upper ends of the connecting rods 86. The outer ends of shaft 88 are received inand may even be'fixed in vertical slides 89 which are reciprocable in upright guides or Ways (FIGS. 5 and 10).

The chain drive shaft 116 (FIG. 5) is keyed at 118 to drive sprocket wheel 56 over which the chain passes as indicated at 38. This is still the bottom pass of the chain, the top or feed pass of the chain being indicated at 36.

FIG. 5 also shows that the chains are used in duplicate, there being two chains spaced apart but with almost identical drive mechanism and opposed loops for stop-andgo motion. However drive sprocket 5'6 differs from drive sprocket 56 in being adjustable. When a single long blank is being treated, both chains operate in unison on the same blank.

One feature of the present machine is that the position of each chain may be accurately and readily adjusted from side to side, each independently of the other. In FIG. 5 it will be seen that vertically movable idler 54 has a hub 122 which turns freely on needle bearings v124,, the inner race of which is axially slidable on the vertically reciprocated shaft 88. The hub 122 is grooved to receive vertical flanges or ways 126 which are secured to the side of a vertical plate 130; (The other end of this plate is also shown in FIG. 1'1, without the shafts and sprockets.)

The drive sprocket wheel 56 (FIG. 5) fixedly carries the inner race of a bearing 132 the outer race of which is secured in plate 130. The hub of sprocket gear 56 .is splined to its drive shaft 116, or as here illustrated, it is slidable on a long key 118. It will thus be seen that side-to-side movement of plate 130 moves the sprocket wheels 54 and 56 with it.

It will also be seen from inspection of *FIG. 5 that the right-hand sprocket wheels and chain are similarly carried by a similar upright plate 131. While not here shown, it may be mentioned that the numerous idler sprockets shown in FIG. 4, that is sprocket wheels 52, 58, 60, 66, 68, 70, 72 and 74, are all mounted on the same vertical plate (or 1-31). Wheel 70 is mounted like wheel 54.

carried by short stub shafts which are freely rotatable in bearings which are fixedly carried by the vertical plate 130, these mountings being somewhat simpler than the bearings shown for. wheels 54 and 56 in FIG. 5, because the stub shafts may be moved axially with the plate whereas in FIG. 5 the shafts 88 and 116 do not move axially.

FIG. 11 shows one end of vertical plate 130 without the sprocket wheels and shafts. However, this view may be related to FIG. 433 because hole 68 is for the mounting of sprocket wheel 68; hole 72' is for the mounting of sprocket wheel 72; and hole 74 is for the mounting of sprocket wheel 74. A vertically elongated opening 70' is provided for the sprocket wheel 70, this being on the vertically reeiprocable shaft 104.

FIG. 11 also shows the vertical guides or ways 126, which are preferably made of nylon, and which are secured to the plate 130. The inner edges of these guides are received in a mating groove in a sprocket wheel hub like hub 12-2 in FIG. 5; and thus the sprocket wheel, while free to rotate, is axially movable on its shaft. FIG. 5 is a transverse section at the down loop at the other end of the machine (FIG. 4A), whereas FIG. 11 corresponds to FIG. 4B and the up loop. In both cases, the shaft need not rotate, and may be fixedly carried in slides 89 (FIG. which reciprocate vertically with the shaft.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the vertical plate and its feed chain may be accurately and readily moved from side to side by manipulation of a control handle 140. The other vertical plate may similarly be moved by means of a control handle 141.

Referring now to FIG. 9, handle 141 rotates a screw 143 extending across the machine. This passes freely through plate 130 and is threadedly received in plate 131. More precisely, it is threadedly received in a flange at 145 which is bolted fixedly to the plate 131. The screw 143 is held against axial movement. To improve the support of plate 131, the flange 145 fixedly carries a long sleeve 147 which is slidable on a guide rod 149. The plate 130 preferably has an opening large enough to pass the sleeve 147 as well as the screw 143. This opening is shown at 149 in FIG. 11.

It will be evident that rotation of wheel 141 (FIG. 9) moves plate 131 toward one side or the other. This mech anism at one end of the machine is duplicated at the other end of the machine, except for the hand wheel 141. Instead a screw like screw 143 but at the other end of the machine, is geared to the screw 143 for rotation in unison with it. For this purpose screw 143 turns a helical gear 151 which mesh-es with a helical gear 153 on a shaft 155 extending lengthwise outside the frame plate 46 of the machine. (This mechanism has been omitted in FIG. 4 in order to simplify the drawing.) At the other end of shaft 155 there is a similar pair of helical gears to drive the remote screw, these parts being fragmentarily indicated at 157 in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 9, the plate 130 is moved by a screw 142 threadedly received in a flange 144 bolted to the side of plate 130. As before, this flange fixedly carries a long guide sleeve 146 slidable on a guide rod 148. Plate 131 has a hole 148 large enough for free passage of screw 142 and sleeve 146. This opening is shown at 148 in FIG. 11. The screw 142 is driven by a helical gear 150 meshing with a gear 152 on a shaft 154 extending longitudinally of the machine. At the other end there is a similar pair of helical gears turning a companion screw, so that both ends of plate 130 are moved equally. The handle 140 for adjustment of the side-to-side position of the plate 130 is located at the other end of the machine, as shown in FIG. 1. This is merely for convenience in separating the handles, but they could be located at the same end of the machine without affecting the described operation.

Referring now to FIG. 6 of the drawing, the left end of a card (not shown) is supported and guided in a guide slot 6 indicated at 160 and formed ona bar 162. The right end of a card is supported and guided in a slot 164 formed on a bar 166. If the card is a double-length card, it rests at the middle on top of a bar 168 having no guide slots. However, one advantage of the present machine is that it may be used for two streams of single-length cards instead of a single stream of double-length cards, and for that purpose a different middle bar 168 may be used having two guide slots indicated at 170. The bars 162, 166, and 168 are all removable, and they are all adjustable from sideto-side of the machine.

The top pass 36 of the chains are preferably guided, and in FIG. 6 they are shown running through hollow guides 172 which have open slots at the top through which the lugs 50 project. Thus the tops of guides 172 act as additional supports for the cards, and also support the chains against possible sagging. Then the lugs 50 project above the back edge of the card a dependable uniform amount.

Means are provided to adjust the position of one chain relative to the other so that the lugs will be in exact alignment behind the rear edge of a card being moved through the dies. Referring to FIG. 5, the left sprocket wheel 56 is keyed directly to shaft 116 by key 118. However, the right sprocket wheel 56' is mounted on a hub 560 carried on a sleeve 562 which in turn is keyed on the shaft by key 118. One end of sleeve 562 is threaded and carries a threaded clamp nut 564. The other end is tapered as shown at 566 and bears against a mating taper on the inside of hub 560. It will be evident that by loosening clamp nut 564 the sprocket wheel 56 may be turned relative to the sprocket wheel 56 for desired adjustment, whereupon the clamp nut 564 may again be tightened. It is provided with suitable lock means, not shown, and in simple form a pair of nutsmay be used.

The hub 560 is carried in a bearing 568 which in turn is secured in the vertical plate 131 for side-t-o-side movement.

Bolster drive Reverting to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the bolster 34 is a rigid large-area, table-like member, the four corners of which are vertically slidable and guided by four upright guide rods 180. These rods are fixed at their lower ends in rigid bushings 182 cast integrally with the frame 48. The bolster is made of aluminum for reduced weight, but the wear parts are not aluminum.

The bolster is vertically reciprocated by a cam action making use of four main cams and four auxiliary return cams. Referring to FIG. 4A, the bolster 34 carries a cam roller 184 which is acted on by a cam 186 carried on a cross shaft 188. This is driven by helical gears one which is visible at 210.

In FIG. 4B, a similar cam roller 190 is shown engaging a cam 192 on a cross shaft 194. This shaft is driven by a helical gear 196 meshing with a helical gear 198 on main drive shaft 40.

Referring now to FIG. 6, cross shaft 194 carries main cams 192 and 193. These engage cam rollers 190 and 191 which are carried by steel blocks or plates 200 and 201 secured on the aluminum side walls 202 and 203 of the large-area bolster, the top of which is indicated at 34. The cross shaft 194 is carried in bearings 204 mounted on pedestals 206 cast integrally with the bottom 208 of the frame or base 48.

Reverting to FIG. 4A, the cross shaft 188 is supported and driven like the cross shaft 194 in FIG. 6. The main drive shaft carries a helical gear 210 only a part of which is visible in FIG. 4A, and this meshes with a helical gear on cross shaft 188 like the gear 196 shown in FIG. 6.

The feed chains dwell for 60 but the reciprocation of the bolster may be performed over say 120, because the cart is gripped in the die during only the upper part of the bolster movement. In FIGS. 4A and 4B of the drawings the cams are shown with a very short abrupt rise, but this has been done merely for clarity of the drawing, because a gradual change over 120 would not show up clearly on the drawing.

The descent of the bolster may be gravitational, but I prefer to make it positive under cam drive, and for this purpose shaft 188 (FIG. 4A) is provided with a second cam 212 which engages a cam follower 214. This is carried by a steel plate 216 which is adjustably bolted to the plate 218, as indicated at 220. It will be understood that there are four cams like the earn 212 operating on four cam followers mounted on four adjustable plates. Such corresponding parts are omitted in FIG. 4B in order to expose other parts of the structure, but are shown in FIG. 6 in which a return cam 222 is combined with main cam 192, these being mounted on the same flanged hub 224. Return cam 222 operates on a cam roller 226 carried by a plate 228 which is adjustably bolted to the block 200. i To facilitate accurate vertical adjustment of roller 226 the block 200 has a projection 230 receiving a left and right-hand screw 232. With clamp bolts like the four bolts 220 shown in FIG. 4A slightly loosened, the screw 232 may be used to accurately locate roller 226 so that there is no lost motion as between the cam rollers 190 and 226, whereupon the four clamping bolts may be tightened, thereby fixing the location of the return roller 226. There are similar parts at the other side of the machine, as shown in FIG. 6, or four such assemblies in all for support and move ment of the four corners of the bolster 34.

It will be understood that the cam drop or notch of return cam 212 (FIG. 4A) is displaced 180 from the cam rise or bump of the main cam 186 (FIG. 4A), so that the bolster is pulled down immediately after raising.

-As so far described the entire load would be on the lift cams, which must lift the bolster and its die carriers and dies, in addition to the load of the cutting action. To lessen this load the bolster is largely counterbalanced, and this is quite simply done by the use of compression springs.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the compression spring 240 helps support the bolster 34. It surrounds a rod 242 the upper end of which passes slidably through the bolster at 244. The lower end of the rod bears against a receptive socket 246 on the bottom 208 of the main frame 46. The spring tension may be adjusted by means of adjustable nuts 248 threaded on rod 242, which raise or lower a washer 250 on which the lower end of spring 240 rests.

The timing of the bolster action must be appropriately related or timed relative to the motion of the feed chains, the bolster acting While the feed chains dwell.

Referring to FIG. 5, the timing pulley 114 is rotatably adjustable on the chain drive shaft 116. For this purpose a lock handle 252 may be released, and pulley 114 shifted as desired, and handle 252 again locked. In practice this lock mechanism may be supplemented by additional means such as a pinion and gear arrangement for fine or close adjustment of the pulley before again locking it by means of the handle 252. Moreover, a suitable pointer and scale may be provided to assist the desired adjustment, the pointer being located in FIG. 5 at 254.

Referring to FIG. 6, the bolster 34 is provided with scrap chutes one of which is indicated at 500. As here illustrated, it is provided with a long narrow scrap chute extending transversely of the machine and terminating in a discharge nozzle 502., The top surface of they bolster is cut away beneath each die carrier so that the punched scrap or chad may fall freely to the bottom of the chute. Because the chute reciprocates rapidly in vertical direction with the bolster, the chad flows down the inclined bottom of the chute even though the incline is small. A stationary trough (not shown) may extend longitudinally of the machine outside the frame 46 to receive the chad discharged from the chutes 500 at the nozzles 502.

8 Magazine feed Referring to FIG. 4B, the main drive shaft 40 carries a helical gear 260 meshing with a helical gear 262 on a cross shaft 264. The latter carries an eccentric 266 which operates a connecting rod 268, the length of which is adjustable at 270. The upper end of the connecting rod is connected to an arm 2-72 on a rock shaft 274 extending across the machine.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, connecting rod 268 rocks arm 272 and with it the rock shaft 274. This carries a series of generally upright arms 276 which oscillate between 'a retracted position shown in solid lines at 276 (FIG. 7) and a forward position shown in broken lines at 276'. Each arm 276 is connected at its upper end to the forward portion 278 of a feed element or so-called feed knife 280. This is slidable on a horizontal guide 282, and .in retracted position its working edge 280 comes behind the lowermost card in the upright magazine 12. When moved forward it feeds the lowermost card through a throat 284 int-o the bite or pinch of feed rollers 286 and 288. These in turn feed the card to feed rollers 290 and 292. The space between the first and second pair of rollers is less than the width of the card, and the rollers rotate at equal linear speed. This speed corresponds to the maximum speed of the feed knife, which is the speed it has when the actuating arm 27 6 is upright. With these precautions the card cannot be buckled or injured. The shaft 294 of roller 292 is also the shaft of the first chain sprocket wheel (74 in FIG. 4B), and referring to FIG. 4B it will be seen how the group of four feed rollers feeds the-card onto the top pass 36 of the feed chain. The timing of the parts is appropriately related so that the lugs 50 are well ahead of the card at this time, and cannot buckle or injure the card. This is easily accomplished because the lugs are six inches apart while the card is only three and one-quarter inches wide.

The drive of the feed rollers may be described with preliminary reference to FIG. 4B. The cross shaft 264 carries a timing pulley which drives -a timing belt, suggested by the broken lines 296. This in turn drives a timing pulley on a stub shaft 300. Referring now to FIG. 8, this again shows timing belt 296 driving timing pulley 298 on stub shaft 300. This carries a gear 302 meshing with a gear 304 on shaft 306 of feed roller 288. There are a series of such rollers along the shaft, two of these being shown in FIG. 8. Gear 304 meshes with gear 308 of shaft 310 which carries a series of feed rollers 286. It will be understood that the pitch diameters of gears 304 and 308 equal the diameters of rollers 288 and 286 so that they run in direct contact at equal linear speed. Circles representing the rollers therefore correspond to circles representing the pitch line of the gears.

With this in mind and with reference to FIG. 7, the gear 302 meshes also with a gear which may be represented by the circle 292 on shaft 294. This in turn meshes with a gear which may be represented by circle 290 on shaft 296. The shafts 294 and 296 carry feed rollers for feeding the cards, and here again they are in rolling contact and move at equal linear speeds, all derived from the starting gear 302.

It may be explained that the main card-feed ,chains cannot safely be bent on too small a radius. It is for that reason that the feed roller shown at 292 in FIG. 4 is of substantial diameter. This in turn makes it difiicult to bring this feed roller close enough to the magazine, and it is primarily for that reason that the small diameter preceding feed rollers 286 and 288 are used. They receive the cards and transfer the same safely to the feed rollers 290 and 292.

The magazine, or at least an end wall thereof, is adjustable or movable to take cards of difficult length. There are enough feed knives and feed rollers to take care of short or long cards.

Die mounting In connection with FIGS. 1 and 4 mention was made of top die holders 21 through 26. These holders are all alike, and a representative holder 21 appears in section in FIG. 6. It is shown in plan in FIG. 12, including end slots 402 which receive pivoted clamp bolts marked 404 in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5. FIG. 6 shows how these are pivoted at 406 for easy addition or removal of a die holder. There are dowels or pins (not shown) for accurate die holder location.

FIG. 6 also shows the pilot pins 328 fixedly carried by the top die holder and reciprocable in the bottom die holder 321. The bottom die holder 321 is shown in FIG. 14, and the holes or bearings 329 receive the pilot pins 328, thus making sure that the top and bottom holders are in vertical registration when the bottom holder is being clamped in position. FIG. 6 shows the clamps 324 used for this purpose.

The clamp screws 326 are received in steel bars 327 secured outside the aluminum bolster. This is done to provide a thread in a harder metal than aluminum.

Reverting to FIGS. 12 and 14, these receive any desired number of narrow dies, one of which is located in broken lines at 412 in FIG. 12, and at 414 in FIG. 14. These may be located as desired along the die holder, that is, in a side-to-side location in the machine, as required by the location of desired perforations or score lines along the long axis of the business card being operated on.

Referring now to FIG. 13, the top die 412 has overhanging ends 416 which are secured to the side rails 418 of the top die holder. The body of the die fits between the rails 14, as indicated at 420. The rails 418 for the top dies may have uniformly spaced holes to receive the dies at fixed intervals which would bring them in adjacent relation.

Referring now to FIG. 15, the bottom die 414 has ears 422 which overlie the side rails 424 of the bottom die holder. The bottom die is secured in position by bolts, the heads of which are received in T slots 426. These permit the bottom dies to be aligned perfectly with the top dies, and such alignment is perfected before tightening the T head bolts which hold the bottom dies.

Precision setting .of card The feed chain delivers the card quite accurately, but because of gradual wear, and because the card must be positioned very precisely in the dies, the present machine is provided with additional means to more exactly locate the card just before the die punches take effect. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a card seat 320 is mounted much as a bottom die is mounted on the rails 322 of a die carrier. As previously explained, these rails extend transversely of the machine at each die station which is in use. Rails 322 in FIGS. 2 are like rails 321 in FIG. 6, and referring to FIG. 6, the bottom die carrier 321 is clamped on bloster 34 by clamps 324 tightened by screws 326. Their location is determined by pilots 328 projecting downward from the corresponding top die holder, in this case the top die holder 21. In FIG. 2 the top rails are marked 348.

FIG. 3 omits the rails 348 of the upper die holder and the rails 322 of the lower die holder. Moreover, FIG. 3 is lowered somewhat instead of being a true projection alongside FIG. 2.

Reverting to FIG. 2, the rails 322 have T slots 330 which receive the heads of bolts 332 carrying nuts 334 to lock the seat 320 in position. The forward edge 336 and the edges 338 of two side plates accurately position the card, indicated at 340, when the seat rises. The card is urged downward toward the seat by means of a very light leaf spring 342 supported on a bracket 344 secured to a top member 346, which is mounted and secured to the rails 348 of the top die holder, which again is essentially a rectangular frame previously indicated under the 10 numerals 21-26 for the six stations, and shown in FIGS. 14 and 15.

The device of FIGS. 2 and 3 includes additional means to push a lagging card forward to the seat. Specifically, there is a pusher finger 350 mounted on a leaf spring 352 secured at 354. This is located between side plates 356 which in turn straddle side plates 338 previously referred to. A cam surface 360 is provided between side plates 338 and beneath the finger 350.

When the bolster rises the seat 320 rises, and this brings the cam 360 against the pusher finger 350, thereby urging the pusher forward. At this time the rear edge of a lagging card is resting on the top surfaces of the side plates 338, and the pusher urges the card forward to a position where it is received in the seat between the locating parts 336 and 338 as the seat rises. In the specific case here shown, the bolster rises three sixteenth-s of an inch before the punches begin to cut. It is during this period that the card position is corrected if wrong. The additional rise to punch the card is only an eighth inch.

The card 340 is shown elevated in FIG. 2 because it rests on guides and chain guides as previously described. The seat 320 meets the card as it rises. The spring 342 helps hold the card against movement or inertia over-travel when the chain dwells. It acts as a brake.

It will be understood that two (or more) such locating devices may be employed along the length of a card. They are located between dies at idle or dead areas having no perforations. They are also displaced from the feed chains, which in turn are located at dead areas hav ing no perforations. One advantage of the multiple or six stations provided in this machine is that one station may intentionally omit some dies, if necessary, to make room for the locating device shown in FIG. 2, and in a subsequent station the missing dies may be employed while the locating devices at that station are offset or located over the previously punched areas.

In FIGS. 16 and 17, I show a different and preferred form of card locating mechanism which may be used in lieu of that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 16 is a plan view, and FIG. 17 is a vertical section taken approximately in the plane of the line 1717 of FIG. 16. The upper die holder 418 carries only the hold-down leaf spring 442, the latter being secured at 444 to a bracket 446 which is mounted on die holder 418 by means of a screw 448.

FIG. 17 shows the bottom die holder 424 in its retracted or lowered position, the card 450 being supported at the height shown by the guides and chain guides previously described. The seat member 452 carries a pivoted locator finger 454, this being pivoted at 456 on one side of the seat member 452. Finger 454 is normally held in the retracted position shown in FIG. =17 by means of a pull spring 458, the upper end of which receives a pin 460 projecting from the hub portion of finger 454, and the lower end of which is held on a pin 462 projecting from the seat member 452. The latter is mounted on the lower die holder 424 by means of T bolts 464, the heads of which are received in the T slots 426 previously referred to.

The locator finger 454 is formed integrally with a cam follower 466. This cooperates with a fixed or stationary cam 468, the latter being secured to a side guide rail 162 (FIGS. 6 and 16) previously described. In the present case, the cam has a pair of horizontal slots 470 (FIG. 17) receiving screws 472. The slots afford precise adjustment of the position of the cam which, in turn, determines the card location.

The operation may be seen by comparison of FIG. 18 with FIG. 17. In FIG. 18 the bolster carrying the lower die holder 424 has risen about inch, causing fixed cam 468 to turn the cam follower 466 and the locator finger 454 to move the card 450 into desired position abutting the forward stop 474 of the seat. The card is punched during the remainder of the upward movement of the bolster, there being no additional motion of the locator finger 454.

It will be understood that two such locators may be provided, one on each side guide. When space for the locator mechanism is not available on a side guide, the stationary cam 468 may be fixed on a chain guide such as that shown at 172 in FIG. 6, and the position of the locator mechanism along the upper and lower die holders is appropriately changed to be adjacent the cam.

During the downward motion of the lower die holder, the spring 458 automatically returns the card locator 454 to the position shown in FIG. 17, thereby clearing the path for travel of the next card thereover. Both the cam 463 and the card locator 454 are accurately dimensioned and are hardened to minimize wear. The position of the cam 463 may be adjusted to provide a forward motion which is exactly right for the card width, typically 3.375 inches. This assures that the card is positively and accurately located, but without damage to its forward or rear edges.

Card discharge Referring to FIG. 4A, the cards leaving the feed chain engage the feed rollers of the print mechanism 28. These are here shown at 312 and 314. If the printing unit 28 is not in use, the feed rollers nevertheless remain in use in order to transfer and discharge the cards. The linear speed of these rollers corresponds to the maximum speed of the intermittently moved top pass 36 of the feed chain. They are driven by timing belts, not shown, from shaft 80. A feed lug rounding the chain idler 52 is spaced from the nip of the rolls 312, 314 an amount somewhat less than the width of the card. By keeping the roller speed at the maximum chain speed there isno danger of buckling or injuring the edges of the card.

The cards leaving the printing unit are dropped into either a first pocket 14 or a second pocket 16. A switch arrangement is provided, but is conventional and not here shown. As the cards are loaded into pocket 14, the bot tom 316 descends, it being supported by a compression spring 318 which yields as the pile of cards growsheavier. The cards may be counted and the switch changed automatically at the end of a desired count, whereupon the cards are fed into the pocket 16 until it reaches the desired count. Meanwhile the previously stacked cards in pocket 14 have been removed by an attendant.

It is believed that the construction and operation of my improved apparatus for punching, scoring, and printing business machine cards, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. The cards may vary greatly in length, and when handling shorter cards two streams may be treated. They are fed with a simple straight-line travel from a supply magazine at one end to a discharge pocket at the other end. Provision is made for receiving and operating an accumulator, and for a printing unit. There are six die stations, thus making possible a corner cut, and scoring, as well as punching over any part of the card. Narrow dies may be located as desired from sideto-side along transverse die holders, which are themselves removable. The cards are fed by chains which may be adjusted from side-to-side, so that they can be located at a part of a card which is anyway devoid of perforations. The cards are handled at high speed but without danger of marring or mutilating the edges of the cards.

It will be understood that while I have shown and described the invention in a preferred form, changes may be made in the structure shown without departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A press having a die station for operating on cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go, motion through said die station, said means comprising an endless chain having tab secured at regular intervals therealong, the feed span running past said station, the return span having a continuously rotating driving sprocket, stationary wheels combined with two movable wheels which form two loops having parallel sides, guides for rectilinear reciprocation of said wheels in a direction parallel to the sides of the loops, eccentrics and connecting rods driven in unison for moving said loop-forming wheels back and forth, the eccentrics being driven in synchronism with the press and having a radius such as to cause a dwell of the feed span of the chain for a portion of each cycle.

2. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising an endless chain having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the top span running past said stations, the bottom span having a continuously rotating driving sprocket wheel, and stationary wheels combined with two vertically movable wheels one of which forms a down loop and the other of which forms an up loop, said loops having vertical sides, eccentrics and connecting rods driven in unison for moving said loop-forming wheels upward and downward in unison with a vertical rectilinear movement, the eccentrics having a radius such as to cause a dwell of the top span of the chain for a portion of each cycle.

3. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising an endless chain having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the top span running past said stations, the bottom span having a continuously rotating driving sprocket, idler sprockets, a chain-tensioning sprocket, and stationary wheels combined with two vertically movable sprockets one of which forms a down loop and the other of which forms an up loop, said loops having vertical sides, said loops having parallel vertical sides, eccentrics and connecting rods driven in unison for moving said loop-forming sprockets upward and downward in unison with a vertical rectilinear movement, the eccentrics being driven in synchronism with the press and having a radius such as to cause a dwell of the top span of the chain for a portion of each cycle.

4. A press as defined in claim 1 in which the die station has a movable die and means to accurately adjust the position of the business card after delivery by the chain to approximate die position, said means including a seat movable with the die, a pusher finger disposed behind the rear end of the seat and movable from a retracted position behind the card to a forward position to push a lagging card forward to the seat, and a cam means operated by cutting movement of the die to urged the pusher finger from retracted to forward position.

5. A press as defined in claim 1 in which there are two chains disposed side-by-side, spaced guide tracks for receiving ends of a double-length card, a removable guide track therebetween for receiving the inner ends of two streams of single-length cards, said chains serving one each for two streams of single-length cards and together serving to feed one stream of double-length cards.

6. A press as defined in claim 2 in which there are two chains disposed side-by-side, spaced guide tracks for receiving ends of a double-length card, a removable guide track therebetween for receiving the inner ends of two streams of single-length cards, said chains serving one each for two streams of single-length cards and together serving to feed one stream of double-length cards.

7. A press as defined in claim 2 .in which there is a magazine for business machine cards at one end of the press, feed means for feeding the bottommost card from the magazine to feed rollers immediately preceding the top span of the, chain, and pockets for receiving the finished cards mounted at the discharge end of the press.

8. A press as defined in claim 1 in which there is a magazine for business machine cards at one end of the press, feed means for feeding the bottommost card from the magazine to feed rollers immediately preceding the top span of the chain, a card printing unit near the discharge end of the press, pockets for receiving the finished cards mounted beyond the printing unit at the discharge end of the press, and mean to drive said printing unit at the maximum velocity of the chain.

9. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising two endless chains disposed side-by-side and having tabs secured at regular intervals thereaiong, the feed spans running past said stations, the return spans each having a continuously rotating drive sprocket and two movable sprockets which form loops, eccentrics and connecting rods for so moving said loop-forming sprockets as to shorten one loop and lengthen the other, two upright plates, the chain sprockets of one chain being mounted on one plate and the chain sprockets of the other chain being mounted on the other plate, the sprockets and chains carried thereby being movable in axial direction by sideto-side movement of a plate, the drive sprockets being slidably keyed on their drive shaft, screws extending transversely of the plates, some being threadedly received by one plate and others being threadedly received by the other plate, and means for rotating the screws.

10. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine'cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising two endless chains disposed side-byside and having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the feed spans running past said stations, the return spans each having a continuously rotating drive sprocket and two movable sprockets which form loops, eccentrics and connecting rods for so moving said loop-forming sprockets as to shorten one loop and lengthen the other, two upright plates, the chain sprockets of one chain being mounted on one plate and the chain sprockets of the other chain being mounted on the other plate, the sprockets and the chains carried thereby being movable in axial direction by side-to-side movement of a plate, the drive sprockets being slidably keyed on their drive shaft, screws extending transversely of the plates, some being threadedly received by one plate and others being threadedly received by the other plate, and means for rotating the screws, spaced guide tracks for receiving the ends of a double-length card, a removable guide track therebetween for receiving the inner ends of two streams of single-length cards, said chains serving one each for two streams of single-length cards and together serving to feed one stream of double-length cards.

11. A press having a series of die stations for opera-ting on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising two endless chains disposed side-by- ,side and having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the feed spans running past said stations, the return spans each having a continuously rotating drive sprocket and two movable sprockets which form loops, eccentrics and connecting rods for so moving said loopforming sprockets as to shorten one loop and lengthen the other, two upright plates, the chain sprockets of one'chain being mounted on one plate and the chain sprockets of the other chain being mounted on the other plate, the sprockets and the chains carried thereby being movable in axial direction by side-to-side movement of a plate, the drive sprockets being slidably keyed on their drive shaft, said plates having transverse sleeves slidably carried on fixed guide rods extending transversely of the press, four screws extending transversely of the plates, two screws being threadedly received by one plate and another two screws being threadedly received by the other plate, a hand wheel for rotating the first two screws, and another hand wheel for rotating the second two screws.

12. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising two endless chains disposed side-byside and having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the feed spans running past said stations, the return spans each having a continuously rotating drive sprocket and two movable sprockets which form loops, eccentrics and connecting rods for so moving said loopforming sprockets as to shorten one loop and. lengthen the other, two upright plates, the chain sprockets of one chain being mounted on one plate and the chain sprockets of the other chain being mounted on the other plate, the sprockets and the chains carried thereby being movable in axial direction by side-to-side movement of a plate, the drive sprockets being slidably keyed on their drive shaft, said plates having transverse sleeves slidably carried on fixed guide rods extending transversely of the press, four screws extending transversely of the plates, two screws being threadedly received by one plate and another two screws being threadedly received by the other plate, a hand wheel for rotating the first two screws, and another hand wheel for rotating the second two screws, spaced guide tracks for receiving the ends of a doublelength cards, a removable guide track therebetween for receiving the inner ends of two streams of single-length cards, said chains serving one each for two streams of single-length cards and together serving to feed one stream of double-length cards.

13. A press having a die station carrying a movable die for operating on business machine cards, means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, means to accurately adjust the position of the business card after delivery to approximate position, said means including a seat movable with the die, a pusher finger disposed behind the rear end of the seat and movable from a retracted position behind the card to a forward position to push a lagging card forward to the seat, and a cam means operated by cutting movement'of the die to urge the pusher finger from retracted to forward position.

14. A press having a die station carrying a movable die for operating on business machine cards, means to feed the cards with a st-op-and-go motion through said die station, means to accurately adjust the position of the business card after delivery to approximate die position, said means including a seat movable with the die, a leaf spring depressor disposed over said seat, a pusher finger disposed behind the rear end of the seat and movable from a retracted position behind the card to a forward position to push a lagging card forward to the seat, and a cam means operated by cutting movement of the die to urge the pusher finger from retracted to forward position.

15. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, said press having a large area horizontal bolster extending beneath the stations, upright guides for said bolster, cam shafts, cams, and cam rollers for vertically reciprocating said bolster, said bolster having transversely extending bottom 'die holders, each holder having means for receiving bottom dies at any desired point along any station, rigid support bars removably mounted across the top of the frame of the machine, said support bars having means to receive top dies at any desired point along the support bar for each station.

16. A press having a die station for operating on cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die station, said means comprising an endless chain having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the feed span running past said station, sprockets for said chain, said sprockets being mounted at one side of an upright plate, said sprockets being movable in axial direction by side-to-side movement of said plate, and means serving to adjust the side-to-side position of the plate and with it the chain.

17. A press having a die station for operating on cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-g-o motion through said die station, said means comprising an endless chain having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the feed span running past said station, the return span having a continuously rotating driving sprocket, and

two movable sprockets which form loops, eccentrics and connecting rods for so moving said loop-forming sprockets as to shorten one and lengthen the other, the eccentrics being driven in synchronism with the press and having a radius such as to cause a dwell of the feed span of the chain for a portion of each cycle, said chain sprockets being mounted at one side of an upright plate and the sprockets being movable in axial direction by side-to-side movement of said plate, the drive sprocket being slidably keyed to its drive shaft, screws extending transversely of the plates, means for rotating said screws, said screws being threadedly received by said plates and serving to adjust the side-to-side position of the plate and with it.

the chain.

18. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die st-ations, said means comprising an endless chain having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the feed span running past said stations, the return span having a continuously rotating driving sprocket, and two movable sprockets which form loops, eccentrics and connecting rods for so moving said loop-forming sprockets as to shorten one and lengthen the other, the eccentrics being driven in synchronism with the press and having a radius such as to cause a dwell of the feed span of the chain for a portion of each cycle, said chain sprockets being mounted at one side of an upright plate and the sprockets being movable in axial direction by side-to-side movement of said plate, the drive sprocket being slidably keyed to its drive shaft, said plate having transverse sleeves slidably carried on fixed guide rods extending transversely of the press, screws extending collaterally of the guide rods and geared together for rotation in unison, a hand wheel for rotating said screws, said screws being threadedly received by said plates and serving to adjust the side-to-side position of the plate and with it the chain.

19. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising two endless chains disposed side-by-side and having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the feed spans running past said stations, chain sprockets carrying said chains, two upright plates, the chain sprockets of one chain being mounted on one plate and the chain sprockets of the other chain being mounted on the other plate, the sprockets and the chains carried thereby being movable in axial direction by side-to-side movement of a plate, screws extending transversely of the plates, one screw being threadedly received by one plate and another screw being threadedly received by the other plate, and means for rotating the screws.

20. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising two endless chains disposed sideby-side and having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the feed spans running past said stations, chain sprockets carrying said chains, two upright plates, the chain sprockets of one chain being mounted on one plate and the chain sprockets of the other chain being mounted on the other plate, the sprockets and the chains carried thereby being movable in axial direction by side-to-side movement of a plate, screws extending transversely of the plates, one screw being threadedly received by one plate and another screw being threadedly received by the other plate, means for rotating the screws, spaced guide tracks for receiving the ends of a double-length card, a removable guide track therebetween for receiving the inner ends of two streams of single-length cards, said chains serving one each for two streams of single-length cards and together serving to feed one stream of double-length cards.

21. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards wi h a s p-and-go motion through said die stations,

said means comprising two endless chains disposed sideby-side and having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the feed spans running past said stations, chain sprockets including a driving sprocket, two upright plates, the chain sprockets of one chain being mounted on one plate and the chain sprockets of the other chain being mounted on the other plate, the sprockets and the chains carried thereby being movable in axial direction by sideto-side movement of a plate, the drive sprockets being slidably keyed on their drive shaft, said plates having transverse sleeves slidably carried on fixed guide rods extending transversely of the press, four screws extending transversely of the plates, two screws being threadedly received by one plate and another two screws being threadedly received by the other plate, a hand wheel for rotating the first two screws, and another hand wheel for rotating the second two screws.

22. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said press having a large area horizontal bolster extending beneath the stations, upright guides for said bolster, two cam shafts, two lift cams on each shaft, cam rollers carrying said bolster on said cams, return cams at the lift cams, and cam rollers on the bolster for positive return of the bolster.

23. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said press having a large area horizontal bolster extending beneath the stations, upright guides for said bolster, two cam shafts, two lift cams on each shaft, cam rollers carrying said bolster on said cams, return cams at the lift cams, cam rollers on the bolster for positive return of the bolster, and compression springs beneath the bolster to at least partially counterbalance the weight of the same.

24. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising an endless chain having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the top span running past said stations, the bottom span having a continuously rotating driving sprocket wheel, and two vertically movable wheels one of which forms a down loop and the other of which forms an up loop, eccentrics and connecting rods driven in unison for moving said loopforming wheels upward and downward in unison, the eccentrics having a radius such as to cause a dwell of the top span of the chain for a portion of each cycle, each die station having a movable die and means to accurately adjust the position of the business card after delivery by the chain to approximate die position, said means including a seat movable with the die, a leaf spring depressor disposed over said seat, a leaf spring pusher finger disposed over the rear end of the seat and movable from a retracted position behind the card to a forward position to push a lagging card forward to the seat, and a cam means behind the seat and movable with the seat to urge the pusher finger from retracted to forward position.

25. A press having a die station for operating on cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die station, said means comprising an endless chain having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the feed span running past said station, the return span having a continuously rotating driving sprocket wheel, two movable 'wheels which form loops, guides for rec- ,tilinear reciprocation of said wheels, eccentrics and connecting rods driven for moving said loop-forming wheels back and forth, the eccentrics being driven in synchronism with the press and having a radius such as to cause a dwell of the feed span of the chain for a portion of each cycle, all of the chain wheels being mounted at one side of an upright plate, whereby all of the chain wheels are movable in axial direction by side-to-side movement of said plate, the drive sprocket wheel being slidably keyed to its drive shaft, the loop-forming wheels being movable back and forth relative to said plate, screws extending transversely of the plate, and means for rotating said screws, said screws being threadedly received by said plates and serving to adjust the side-to-side position of the plate and with it the chain.

26. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stopand-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising an endless chain having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the top span running past said stations, the bottom span having a continuously rotating driving sprocket wheel, and two vertically movable 'wheels one of which forms a down loop and the other of which forms an up loop, eccentrics and connecting rods driven in unison for moving said loop-forming wheels upward and downward in unison, the eccentrics having a radius such as to cause a dwell of the top span of the chain for a portion of each cycle, all of the chain wheels being mounted at one side of an upright plate, whereby all of the chain wheels are movable in axial direction by side-to-side movement of said plate, the drive sprocket wheel being slidably keyed to its drive shaft, the loop-forming wheels being vertically movable relative to said plate, screws extending transversely of the plate, and means for rotating said screws, said screws being threadedly received by said plates and serving to adjust the sideto-side position of the plate and with it the chain.

27.- A press having a die station for operating on cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die station, said means comprising an endless chain having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the feed span running past said station, the return span having a continuously rotating driving sprocket wheel, two movable wheels which form loops, guides for rectilinear reciprocation of said wheels, eccentrics and connecting rods driven for moving said loop-forming wheels back and forth, the eccentrics being driven in synchronism with the press and having a radius such as to cause a dwell of the feed span of the chain for a portion of each cycle, all of the chain wheels being mounted at one side of an upright plate, whereby all of the chain wheels are movable in axial direction by side-to-side movement of said plate, the drive sprocket wheel being slidably keyed to its drive shaft, the loop-forming wheels being movable back and forth relative to said plate, said plate having transverse sleeves slidably carried on fixed guide rods extending transversely of the press, screws extending collaterally of the guide rods and geared together for rotation in unison, and a hand wheel for rotating said screws, said screws being threadedly received by said plates and serving to adjust the side-to-side position of the plate and with it the chain.

28. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising an endless chain having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the top span running past said stations, the bottom span having a continuously rotating driving sprocket wheel, and two vertically movable wheels one of which forms a down loop and the other of which forms an up loop, eccentrics and connecting rods driven in unison for moving said loop-forming wheels up ward and downward in unison, the eccentrics having a radius such as to cause a dwell of the top span of the chain for a portion of each cycle, all of the chain wheels being mounted at one side of an upright plate, whereby all of the chain wheels are movable in axial direction by sidc-to-side movement of said plate, the drive sprocket wheel being slidably keyed to its drive shaft, the loopforming wheels being vertically movable relative to said plate, said plate having transverse sleeves slidably carried on fixed guide rods extending transversely of the press, screws extending collaterally of the guide rods and geared together for rotation in unison, and a hand wheel for rotating said screws, said screws being threadedly received by said plates and serving to adjust the side-to-side position of the plate and with it the chain.

29. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising an endless chain having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the top span running past said stations, the bottom span having a continuously rotating driving sprocket wheel, and two vertically movable wheels one of which forms a down loop and the other of which forms an up loop, eccentrics and connecting rods driven in unison for moving said loop-forming wheels upward and downward in unison, the eccen--:

trics having a radius such as to cause a dwell of the top span of the chain for a portion of each cycle, a large area horizontal bolster extending beneath all of the stations, upright guides for said bolster, cam shafts, cams on said cam shafts, and cam rollers on said bolster for vertically reciprocating said bolster, said bolster having transversely extending bottom die holders, each holder having means for receiving bottom dies at any desired point along any station, and rigid support bars removably mounted across the top of the frame of the machine, said support bars having means to receive top dies at any desired point along the support bar for each station.

30. A press having a series of die stations for operating on business machine cards, and means to feed the cards with a stop-and-go motion through said die stations, said means comprising an endless chain having tabs secured at regular intervals therealong, the top span running past said stations, the bottom span having a continuously rotating driving sprocket wheel, and two vertically movable wheels one of 'which forms a down loop and the other of which forms an up loop, eccentrics and connecting rods driven in unison for moving said loopforming wheels upward and downward in unison, the eccentrics having a radius such as to cause a dwell of the top span of the chain for a portion of each cycle, a large area horizontal bolster extending beneath the stations, upright guides for said bolster, two cam shafts, two lift cams spaced apart on each shaft, cam rollers carrying said bolster on said lift cams, return cams on each shaft at each of the lift cams, and cam rollers on the bolster engaging the return cams for positive return of the bolster.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,677,542 5/1954 Backhouse et al. 27150 X 2,792,222 5/ 1957 Barbeau et a1 271-60 X 2,949,297 8/ 1960 Bobst 271-45 2,993,433 7/1961 Leonard et. a1 27145 X ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, Examiner. 

13. A PRESS HAVING A DIE STATION CARRYING A MOVABLE DIE FOR OPERATING ON BUSINESS MACHINE CARDS, MEANS TO FEED THE CARDS WITH A STOP-AND-GO MOTION THROUGH SAID DIE SATIONS, MEANS TO ACCURATELY ADJUST THE POSITION OF THE BUSINESS CARD AFTER DELIVERY TO APPROXIMATE POSITION, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A SEAT MOVABLE WITH DIE, A PUSHER FINGER DISPOSED BEHIND THE REAR END OF THE SEAT AND MOVABLE FROM A RETRACTED POSITION BEHIND THE CARD TO A FORWARD POSITION TO PUSH A LAGGING CARD FORWARD TO THE SEAT, AND A CAM MEANS OPERATED BY CUTTING MOVEMENT OF THE DIE TO URGE THE PUSHER FINGER FROM RETRACTED TO FORWARD POSITION. 